UNDP in Croatia

Spot the odd one out - the arms collection campaign continues under a new visual identity

02 Oct 2013

WEAPON COLLECTION CAMPAIGN BASED ON THE COMIC BOOK “SPOT THE ODD ONE OUT” WHICH, THROUGH THE ADVENTURES OF MAIN CHARACTERS, TEACHES ABOUT RULES OF CONDUCT WHEN FACING A WEAPON.

Zagreb Police Department, in cooperation with the Police Directorate and UNDP, engaged in activities promotingthe national prevention campaign “Less Arms, Less Tragedies” at Zagreb Fair on Wednesday, 2 October.

The goal of this campaign is to inform the public about the dangers of land mines, explosives, and other weapons which are present in their environment, and to encourage people to voluntarily surrenderweapons still in their possession. In order to warn the children and educate them on the subject, older kindergarten groups of Siget Kindergarten have been exposed to the issue through a comic book called “Spot the odd one out”.

The campaign was first introduced in Croatia in 2007, and was presented to Croatian children and the wider public this year during the 11th International Fair for the protection of People and Goods—INTERPROTEX 2013.

This way, a new visual identity has been presented for the campaign with the slogan “Spot the odd one out,” while posters, flyers, and other promotional materials have been designed in the form of a comic book.

Through the adventures of the main characters of the comic book (in the form of various fruits), brother Mirkec and sister Mirna Znatiželjković(an apple and a pear), teachers of the school Znanstvenić (a banana), and the policeman Povjerenko Sigurnović (a grape), the children learned about the dangers of weapon possession andmine explosives.

The little ones were especially impressed with the robot, Teodor, and other pyrotechnical equipment. Through a creative and an educational workshop, they had a chance to draw comic book characters themselves.

Sandra Veber, Head of Prevention Police Directorate, Velibir Tisma, Head of Prevention Police Department, and Davor Posilović, Chief of the Police Department, took this opportunity to invite and encourage people once again to hand in their firearms without any consequences. It was also emphasized that people should not bring the weapons or explosives to the police stations themselvesso that accidental activation and unwanted injuries can be avoided..

Those who wish to voluntarily hand in their illegal firearms can do so by calling 192 or their closest police station, and a team of trained police experts will come to their home and confiscate the weapons. There is no time limit to the campaign and more information can be found by calling the toll-free number—0800 88 92.